Training camp log

0-for-two: The defense kept the offense out of the end zone in two cracks at the two-minute drill today, one by Brandon Weeden with the first team and one by Colt McCoy with the second.

Weeden's drive stalled when he was pressured into a throwaway by end Emmanuel Stephens on third down, and then had his pass in the end zone knocked down by T.J. Ward on fourth down. McCoy's drive, on which he found Brandon Jackson over the middle to convert a fourth down, fizzled when Buster Skrine broke a pass in the end zone on second down and safety David Sims swatted one away from Evan Moore in the end zone on third down.

"Today it was fifty seconds (remaining), no timeouts, need a touchdown,'' said coach Pat Shurmur. "Today we did not score touchdowns so what I’m seeing in these drills is guys having to react to the situation. There are coachable moments in there that we talk about in terms of whether the route was run properly, the protection was right, the quarterback did the right thing, all the things you look for.

"As the head coach, I’m looking at both sides of it so that if we stop them, it’s a 'we' thing. If we stop them, that’s a good thing too. We try to go ones against ones, twos against twos so the competition is brisk and I think that’s the other thing to keep in mind.”

Key injuries: Running back Chris Ogbonnaya left the morning practice with a possible ankle injury after D'Qwell Jackson rolled up on his leg following a reception in the two-minute drill. He did not come outside for the afternoon walk-through. Defensive tackle John Hughes sat out the morning practice, but said it was nothing serious and that he'd be back soon. Safety Bubba Ventrone has missed the past two practices with a leg injury. Defensive end Emmanuel Stephens left the walk-through with a trainer. Defensive end Frostee Rucker participated in some 11-on-11s.

Schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday are the final practices open to the public, from 8:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. For updates, call 877-627-6967.

"There's something to Thad that I think is worth developing,'' said Shurmur, who coached Lewis in 2010 in St. Louis, where he spent most of the season on the practice squad.

Shurmur was impressded with Lewis' ability to come in off the bench in the fourth quarter in Detroit and produce a touchdown and a field goal in his two drives.

"If we’re going to talk about Thad Lewis, being with him for a year in St. Louis, I saw him respond in a way that he did in the Detroit game,'' Shurmur said. "(You get) very few reps and then go in there and play pretty well, which is an attribute that a backup initially has to have. Because of what's going on with our quarterback situation, he hasn’t gotten many reps. Then he went out in the game against Detroit, albeit was against the thirds, but still executed well and played quarterback well.''

Shurmur acknowledged that his desire to hang onto Lewis will impact McCoy and Wallace.

"Yeah, I think so,'' he said. "There’s no telling what's going to happen at this point. We’ve got a few days left here, close to 20, before we’ve got to make the final decision.”

Lewis, originally signed by the Rams as undrafted rookie out of Duke, was claimed by the Browns via waivers last September. He was inactive for 13 games and dressed but didn't play in three others.

Sims flashing: First-year safety David Sims, who was signed to the Browns' practice squad in November, has been catching Shurmur's eye -- and a lot more than that.

He picked off a pass in each of the first two preseason games, and had two more in 7-on-7 drills Monday, one off Brandon Weeden and another off Wallace. Against the Lions, he got an interception in the waning seconds in the Browns' 19-17 victory, and in Green Bay he picked off Graham Harrell and sprinted 38 yards for the touchdown.

"He’s challenging, he’s physical and he’s really made a huge amount of progress in the time that we’ve been together,'' Shurmur said. "I’m hopeful that it will continue here in the next two preseason games because that’s the kind of thing you want to see for a guy to make the team. He’s got to flash and he’s got to make plays. To his credit, he’s done that.”

Sims, who was originally signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie out of Iowa State in 2011, believes he's got a nose for the ball.

"The ball doesn't seem too find me, I seem to find the ball,'' he said. "I just try to do what I need to do to make plays because I know my situation. I'm a free agent. ... I just came here to show them that I could really play so I can make the team and help the team.''

Sims' chances of making the final roster will depend largely on injuries in the secondary. Currently, safety Usama Young is recovering from a pulled hamstring and hasn't practiced in weeks.

Gordon speeding up: The lights are coming on for rookie receiver Josh Gordon, who's run errant comeback routes in each of the past two games that nearly cost Weeden interceptions.

"Josh is a good example of somebody trying to get it right because there are a lot of things for Josh running parallel right now — the grind of training camp, the newness of playing the game again, of course learning our system and then facing competition,'' Shurmur said. "The last couple of days, he’s practicing faster in my mind, he’s catching the ball and running with it instead of catching and stopping. He’s learning how to do it better in practice. As we all know, if we see it here, then it will translate to the game.”

In 7-on-7 drills, Gordon plucked a pass from Weeden off his helmet down the left sideline, with James Dockery in tight coverage. And in full-squad drills, he streaked down the left side and caught a beautifully thrown ball from Weeden over Sheldon Brown for a touchdown.

hurmur agreed with Bernie Kosar, who criticized Gordon on the Browns telecast the past two weeks for messing up the comeback routes.

"I think he needs to work on that route,'' Shurmur said. "The other thing about this process is us getting used to the routes that he runs well and then feature them more in the game plans, which is important."

On Cribbs' role: Shurmur said Joshua Cribbs' opportunities at receiver probably won't be much different than last season.

"He’s going to be active, and he’s going to be a returner,'' Shurmur said. "That being the case, he’s going to line up and play receiver at times. ... If he’s on the field, then he has a chance to produce.”

JMJ making a case: Rookie linebacker James-Michael Johnson, who started at outside linebacker in place of Scott Fujita last week, picked off a pass and broke up another in Green Bay, and knocked down two McCoy passes in team drills Monday. If Fujita's suspension is upheld, Johnson will start the first three games in his absence. But he's making a case to start at some point this season regardless of what happens with Fujita.

“The production that he's given us in the games so far points to the fact that he may be a starter for us this year,'' said Shurmur. "He has a chance. Again, I don’t want to make any proclamations at this point, but I think he'll continue to improve as well. I said it after the game, but I thought that young linebacking core did an outstanding job against Green Bay.”

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